Hoyer: Anemic Job Growth Is Part and Parcel of Failed Republican Economic Policies

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy added only 51,000 jobs in September. Economists generally agree that the economy must add 150,000 jobs per months just to keep pace with population growth and the number of people entering the labor force:

“The Bush Administration’s handling of our economy over the last 70 months has been nothing short of inept – from the growing disparities in income, to record budget deficits and exploding debt, to the worst record of job creation of any Administration since the Great Depression.

“The addition of 51,000 jobs, as reported today by the Department of Labor, is wonderful news for those who secured employment in September. But the reality is, our economy under the Bush Administration is not creating enough jobs to keep pace with our growing population and the number of new workers entering the labor force each month.

“During the Bush Administration, employment growth has averaged just 28,000 private-sector jobs per month. In contrast, the economy added an average of 220,000 private-sector jobs per month during the Clinton Administration.

“While the White House will undoubtedly try to spin today’s employment report as evidence of a ‘roaring’ economy, the American people know otherwise – and that is why there is deep anxiety about our economic security. In the last six years, our economy has lost nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs, including 19,000 last month; real median incomes have dropped $1,300; health care costs have skyrocketed 71 percent; and tuition and fees for four-year public universities have exploded by 57 percent. This is not evidence of success; it is evidence of a failure by the Republican Party in Washington to address the most pressing economic issues facing the American people.

“Democrats believe that we need to take our nation in a new direction. We believe it’s long past time to raise the federal minimum wage, to repeal subsidies for companies to send jobs overseas, to make health care and college more affordable, and to restore fiscal discipline."